23/09/2012

:00:44. > :00:48.Hello and welcome to the Netherlands for the climax of the

:00:48. > :00:53.world championships. We have seen some fine sights on road and track

:00:53. > :00:59.since last year, but no weight of gold can eclipse what we sort of a

:00:59. > :01:09.month ago. -- what we saw 12 months ago.

:01:09. > :01:20.

:01:20. > :01:29.HUGH PORTER: Chris Froome, the man that is blowing a hole. It is

:01:29. > :01:33.finely poised now, this contest. Bradley Wiggins is just putting the

:01:34. > :01:36.pressure on. It is going to be a grand finale.

:01:36. > :01:43.It is going to be a grand finale. Wiggins is blazing away.

:01:43. > :01:51.We have got an attack on here. What an attack this is. This gap has got

:01:51. > :01:59.to be closed. They have got to find the formula to close them down.

:01:59. > :02:02.Wiggins still doing the towing. Also in there is Cavendish. Where

:02:02. > :02:07.is Cavendish going to deliver the blow?

:02:07. > :02:14.It is time for the sprinter's start. Who is going to be first to launch

:02:14. > :02:19.the train? What a finish this is going to be.

:02:19. > :02:24.Germany are setting something up. The Great Britain riders are on the

:02:25. > :02:31.right hand side. Here we go. The full commitment.

:02:31. > :02:40.Australia now beginning to get to the fund. Can Cavendish get

:02:40. > :02:44.through? The line is getting nearer and nearer. Here he comes. Mark

:02:44. > :02:52.Cavendish on the left is going to be the world champion. He has won

:02:52. > :02:58.the world title for Great Britain! He time did to absolute perfection.

:02:58. > :03:02.He time did to absolute perfection. -- he timed it.

:03:02. > :03:07.Mark Cavendish is here to defend his jersey. He is part of a strong

:03:07. > :03:12.team including the winner of last week's Tour of Britain, Jonathan

:03:12. > :03:15.Tiernan-Locke. But we start with the elite women's race. We were not

:03:15. > :03:23.see the Olympic silver medallist here but we have a former Olympic

:03:23. > :03:30.and world champion in the British ranks.

:03:30. > :03:35.With Lizzie on the team, it brings another dimension to the race. Yeah,

:03:35. > :03:41.we have still got a strong seam, even though we are five riders. We

:03:41. > :03:46.have seen other teams with seven or even eight riders. It is down to

:03:46. > :03:51.last two rides Martley, but that is always part of road racing. -- to

:03:51. > :03:57.write smartly. Emma Pooley is currently

:03:57. > :04:05.considering her future in the sport. It would make more sense if our

:04:05. > :04:09.races were run alongside men's races. It is not a huge amount of

:04:09. > :04:14.extra effort for the race organiser, and I wish they would push that

:04:14. > :04:19.more. There's a gender imbalance. Rather

:04:19. > :04:23.than diving in and throwing money around, which is a short-term fix,

:04:23. > :04:27.I am not sure yet if that is the right way to approach it. We need

:04:27. > :04:31.to think about what we need to do now to contribute to a more

:04:31. > :04:36.sustainable level of competition standard and structure within

:04:36. > :04:42.women's cycling. Women need to pull together, but it

:04:42. > :04:49.is for a common goal. It to be very exciting to be part of it. -- it

:04:49. > :04:58.could be. One person you can imagine he will

:04:58. > :05:02.be swept up by the home support is your great rival. She must be among

:05:02. > :05:08.the favourites? Oh, yeah. You would put her at the top of nearly

:05:08. > :05:12.everyone's list. She is very dominant this season. There is not

:05:12. > :05:16.a type of terrain where she has got a weakness. She is also backed up

:05:16. > :05:22.by a strong Dutch team. She has got everything to go for the win.

:05:22. > :05:25.It must be very special to come back to the world championship.

:05:25. > :05:33.Yeah, it always has that something special. The crowds, the course,

:05:34. > :05:38.the history that goes with it. For me, it is also very special coming

:05:38. > :05:46.back to this place itself. I won my first World Cup here. Very special

:05:46. > :05:55.for me, riding around this course today.

:05:56. > :06:01.We are at the foot at the start of the hill, and this is central to

:06:01. > :06:09.these World Championship. It is. It is an iconic part of the

:06:09. > :06:15.championships. It is 5.8 % climb, and it hits the offer sent, and as

:06:15. > :06:23.we saw in the time trial, the crowds really come out. -- it hits

:06:23. > :06:27.12%. It is an integral part of the world championship cycling here.

:06:27. > :06:31.Anybody who has watched the Gold classic will no just a passionate

:06:31. > :06:36.the crowd are, and what an influence they can have on the

:06:36. > :06:41.cyclists. Here, especially, beer and cycling

:06:41. > :06:45.go together. The riders, when they come up here, the crowd really do

:06:45. > :06:53.get in. They will be able to smell the beer on their breath. It really

:06:53. > :06:59.adds to the atmosphere. The crowds really are going to go

:06:59. > :07:04.crazy. We are in a central part of cycling in Europe. It is easily

:07:05. > :07:13.accessible for all the nations. Holland, Belgium, Germany... The

:07:13. > :07:18.crowds are here already. The teams, there's hundreds of cyclists out,

:07:18. > :07:23.the media, cars everywhere. It really is a busy, busy place.

:07:23. > :07:29.I know we were tempted, but we decided to walk instead of cycle up

:07:29. > :07:34.to here. Having seen some of the teams, it looks like hard work.

:07:34. > :07:39.Just seeing those guys there, pushing on. Contador came through

:07:39. > :07:45.in Leek ago and he was not finding it easy. This is one of the

:07:45. > :07:51.steepest sections. This is a real good launch pad for any race

:07:51. > :07:54.winning manoeuvre. In that goal classic, it is usually

:07:54. > :07:58.on this part that the decisive attack comes.

:07:58. > :08:02.It is always here. But let's not forget, it is not the last time

:08:02. > :08:08.they go up. They have got 11 climbers here. All the way through

:08:08. > :08:14.the race, we are going to have groups trying to cause damage. They

:08:14. > :08:24.are trying to use the sprinters. -- to lose at the sprinters.

:08:24. > :08:27.Men climb this hill 11 times, the women eight. There is another

:08:27. > :08:34.significant climb, which comes in the back straight, as it were. In

:08:34. > :08:38.total, the race is 129 kilometres. It was on the second climb that the

:08:38. > :08:41.first significant incident happened. Around half of the peloton were

:08:42. > :08:47.brought down or delayed by two riders colliding next to Nicole

:08:47. > :08:51.Cooke. She squeezed through, but Cooke. She squeezed through, but

:08:51. > :08:59.Emma Pooley and Katie Colclough were caught.

:08:59. > :09:05.Five riders managed to break boy, prompted by Amber Neben. -- to

:09:05. > :09:12.break out. Great Britain were a notable absentee.

:09:12. > :09:19.HUGH PORTER: They get back to the line. Anybody who has designs on a

:09:19. > :09:23.podium position is not wanting to be involved in the sprint. The

:09:23. > :09:28.hard-working Nicole Cooke there. She was really labouring over the

:09:28. > :09:34.bars. You can't tell if she is going well

:09:34. > :09:39.of going bad. She tends to look like she is going bad.

:09:39. > :09:46.Oh, here we go. Marianne Vaas is going. The world No. 1, the gold

:09:46. > :09:54.medal winner is launching herself. The crowd are going ballistic. It

:09:54. > :10:04.has put the peloton on the back for it. MI is chasing behind. -- the

:10:04. > :10:11.

:10:11. > :10:18.can't let her go. Emma Pooley is having to find her

:10:18. > :10:23.rhythm. There's no way she can react to that speed when she goes.

:10:23. > :10:29.She doesn't drag anybody along. Look at this, she is up to the

:10:29. > :10:34.group already. They are six away now. She wants to go to the front,

:10:34. > :10:39.get on with it. Come on. This could be the key move. Her team-mate is

:10:39. > :10:45.here as well. Look at this, trying to come across is the rider from

:10:45. > :10:52.Italy. She has tried to get across, and she is going to make it. A good

:10:52. > :10:58.finisher as well, she is. We have got seven riders moving away.

:10:58. > :11:05.Her team-mate is going to bury herself. She has to make sure she

:11:05. > :11:15.doesn't give it hole and die in five kilometres. She mascot go for

:11:15. > :11:18.

:11:18. > :11:23.the -- she must not try to be a She should have gone earlier.

:11:23. > :11:28.That goes to show. Sheer class. The group are being used to work. The

:11:28. > :11:34.girl who has been sitting on, she will now be happy to bury herself.

:11:34. > :11:41.Exactly. On the back there is the world

:11:41. > :11:44.champion. Emma Pooley has got to get across this gap on her own. She

:11:44. > :11:49.should have gone, in my opinion, as they got towards the peak of

:11:49. > :11:53.decline. She would almost be better to look

:11:53. > :11:58.behind her and wait for this group. The Netherlands have got another

:11:58. > :12:05.rider in this group. She has got the Italian... Oh, we

:12:05. > :12:09.can watch this now. She comes off Emma Pooley's wheel, got blocked,

:12:09. > :12:14.and she could not regain the momentum.

:12:14. > :12:20.The world No. 1 just turns the screw, and the way she goes. I tell

:12:20. > :12:26.you what, she is saying, I am here, do you want to beat me? Can you

:12:26. > :12:33.come with me? Coming out to the line, it is two to go this time.

:12:33. > :12:39.Suddenly, the taper that was burning down has imploded. A brace

:12:39. > :12:49.of orange jerseys on the front. Single-handedly, she has destroyed

:12:49. > :12:50.

:12:50. > :12:55.the race, Marianne. Unbelievable. It is not convincing. Look at the

:12:55. > :13:01.gap. The world champion is in this group.

:13:01. > :13:07.Emma Pooley has got three riders who are not going to go with her.

:13:07. > :13:12.That it becomes... Oh, here is another one behind her.

:13:12. > :13:22.Less than two laps to go in this women's world road race, and as you

:13:22. > :13:28.say, single-handedly, the formation has been rejigged. An astonishing

:13:28. > :13:38.piece of riding there. In this front group, you will see

:13:38. > :13:38.

:13:39. > :13:46.almost all these riders. They should just let the two Dutch

:13:46. > :13:52.riders do the race on their own. I don't think the leader will want

:13:52. > :13:56.to completely kill herself at this stage.

:13:56. > :14:05.The two of them are on their own now. The rest of the girls are not

:14:05. > :14:10.going to help them. Tactically, they are not as astute.

:14:10. > :14:18.This is the rider that is trying to go clear of the peloton. She has

:14:18. > :14:25.got a hard job on her hands, believe me. That is Pencoed the,

:14:25. > :14:33.from Russia. Mission impossible, I would say.

:14:33. > :14:40.It is a brave move. This is interesting. Everyone is riding.

:14:40. > :14:46.You have got two Italians and two and Dutch. These four are going to

:14:46. > :14:56.fully commit and the other girls are going to be used as markers.

:14:56. > :15:05.

:15:05. > :15:13.We have seen just how hard Marianne frustrating for Emma Pooley.

:15:13. > :15:19.This course does not lend itself to that. The Russian is making a fist

:15:19. > :15:23.of this but she is never going to grab that group.

:15:23. > :15:33.The time is going further back. Got to be over a minute, I would

:15:33. > :15:39.

:15:39. > :15:45.know it is over a minute. That is the sign that the race is riding

:15:45. > :15:52.away from you. -- the team car goal by. Interesting to see where Vos

:15:52. > :16:02.will make her next move. You can always get wrapped up in a motion,

:16:02. > :16:07.especially with 1:20, 1:22, going up exponentially. They have to put

:16:07. > :16:17.someone up in front of the peloton now, just to stop it riding. The

:16:17. > :16:22.

:16:22. > :16:27.time is haemorrhaging. No 27 for the leading group. 1:27. This is

:16:27. > :16:32.amazing. Nobody has put somebody to ride at the front. It is just

:16:32. > :16:36.disorganised. None of them are committed. Somebody has to

:16:36. > :16:44.sacrifice themselves. They need a few from each individual team to

:16:44. > :16:52.sacrifice themselves. Tour de five kilometres to go. Vos, must be,

:16:52. > :16:56.well... These three girls, the German, the American, the Australia

:16:56. > :17:02.-- the Australian, this is an ideal situation because they know that

:17:02. > :17:12.two of these Corus are just going to exhaust themselves for their

:17:12. > :17:13.

:17:13. > :17:18.team leaders. -- two of these girls. Nicole Cooke is at the front. But

:17:18. > :17:28.she is not going fast enough. It is a horizontal line across the road,

:17:28. > :17:30.

:17:30. > :17:36.because the pace is not high. plough along, inexorably. It is

:17:36. > :17:41.going to the -- it is going to be the bell when they get to the line.

:17:41. > :17:45.This is the leading group of seven will still look at the crowd.

:17:45. > :17:51.Marianne Vos at the front. Her team-mate is shut down. She is

:17:51. > :17:58.having a go. She does not want the company. Vos wants to live alone --

:17:58. > :18:07.win alone. What a move. Vos has dismissed the rest. She is not even

:18:07. > :18:10.interested. She is on a mission. Powering her way up the climb.

:18:11. > :18:16.is just incredible. I would never have called that. It goes to show

:18:16. > :18:21.just how strong she is. Although they are coming back. She could

:18:21. > :18:31.counter. Success is getting what you want. I tell you what, Vos is

:18:31. > :18:33.

:18:33. > :18:40.trying to blow the opposition away. This is also the risk. She is so

:18:41. > :18:44.strong, let's hope she's not over- confident. They are the strongest,

:18:44. > :18:49.and they are all in the medal positions. I think it is within

:18:49. > :18:55.their compass to stay clear for the final lap. These three are a spent

:18:55. > :19:02.force. I'm surprised that the American. I thought she would have

:19:03. > :19:08.been with the leaders. Look at the damage. She wants to win a loan.

:19:08. > :19:14.think she wanted to do a lap alone. A lap of honour. That is why you

:19:14. > :19:23.have to be careful. She is so strong... Has she peaked too early?

:19:23. > :19:28.Am worried. -- I am worried. Are the other two strong enough to keep

:19:28. > :19:32.the support to Vos that she wants. That is the thing. She makes her

:19:32. > :19:37.own bed in this situation. If she is that strong, why would they

:19:37. > :19:42.follow? She is waiting for them. She could probably take them around

:19:42. > :19:46.to the back of the circuit. She is going to wait for a team-mate now

:19:46. > :19:51.she realises she cannot drop anybody. The Australian is having a

:19:51. > :19:59.crack. Actually, she could have played the wrong tactic. That is

:19:59. > :20:07.not what I would have done. Australian at the back. She is

:20:07. > :20:17.spent, completely. She has done a fantastic job for her to make. --

:20:17. > :20:21.

:20:21. > :20:26.for her team-mate. Vanda Bredon is doing really well. Rachel Nevin is

:20:26. > :20:32.really strong, driving it at the front. Terrific racing. Look at the

:20:32. > :20:42.crowd. The cacophony of applause is a ringing out, lifting up the

:20:42. > :20:43.

:20:43. > :20:47.riders. One laps remaining, 16 kilometres. Marianne Vos has made

:20:47. > :20:57.that massive attack but she has only lost to the German rider and

:20:57. > :20:57.

:20:57. > :21:07.the Italian. The other Dutch girl is only 22. Her team-mate, in 4th,

:21:07. > :21:08.

:21:08. > :21:13.lets the wheels go. Vos decides to put the boot in. There is a certain

:21:13. > :21:23.amount of regrouping. We're looking at five riders from the original

:21:23. > :21:29.

:21:29. > :21:36.seven trying to go away. Embrace of Dutch in the front grip. What a

:21:36. > :21:41.wonderful tactic. It has worked like a dream. -- a brace of Dutch

:21:41. > :21:49.in the front group. I would be worried for Marianne Vos because

:21:49. > :21:59.she has wasted some bigger tax. -- Big attacks. Becker is blown

:21:59. > :22:11.

:22:11. > :22:15.lap to go to decide the women's world road race championship. You

:22:15. > :22:25.are looking at the leading group. Two from the Netherlands in the

:22:25. > :22:32.

:22:32. > :22:38.script. That is the group of selection. Without any shadow of a

:22:39. > :22:48.doubt. It will be hard to keep the peloton at bay. 22 seconds back for

:22:49. > :22:51.

:22:51. > :22:56.the next rider. They have a long right now in no man's land.

:22:56. > :23:06.face tells you everything. I think she could well be swept up by the

:23:06. > :23:08.

:23:08. > :23:14.peloton. The leading group, five- strong, looking good. I think they

:23:15. > :23:19.have all realise now that they need to help out. Although Marianne Vos,

:23:19. > :23:23.you have to hope she is not doing too much. She was like this in

:23:23. > :23:30.London. She has the bit between her teeth. When she was away with

:23:30. > :23:37.Lizzie Armistead, she was piling it on. It is a different style of

:23:37. > :23:41.riding to the men. You could not get away with that with the men.

:23:41. > :23:48.get the feeling that Vos will try to take off. I stink she would like

:23:48. > :23:54.to take her team-mate with her. -- I think she would like. She was in

:23:54. > :24:00.the wrong position where -- when Vos was attacking. The two of them

:24:01. > :24:10.just let him go, taking their work was done. She is going. She is a

:24:10. > :24:18.workmanlike. -- she is so were alike. The Italian, nibbling away

:24:18. > :24:28.at the advantage. They really have played a superb tactical game, the

:24:28. > :24:31.Dutch team. There are days when it goes perfectly. The EU could have

:24:31. > :24:41.the best tactical race out of all the teams but if you do not win the

:24:41. > :24:46.race, it means nothing. I do not think the Australian is the right

:24:46. > :24:52.rider to have in this group. They should have that if any Cromwell. -

:24:52. > :25:02.- they should have had Tiffany Cromwell. The that was a very

:25:02. > :25:05.

:25:05. > :25:11.similar finish to this. Neben Is a good rider and a former speed stage

:25:11. > :25:18.rider. I think the main threat could come from the Italian, who

:25:18. > :25:28.was actually third this year in the Grand Prix. It is game over for

:25:28. > :25:31.

:25:31. > :25:40.what is left of the peloton. Ratto, Floating along in no man's land but

:25:40. > :25:43.for how much longer? The residue of the peloton run-out trailing the

:25:43. > :25:50.chief animators of the contest but they are not going to see this

:25:50. > :25:55.group again. They have gone. Look at his grip, they have raised the

:25:55. > :26:01.average speed of the race to 39.5, whereas the peloton had dropped to

:26:01. > :26:06.38. It just goes to show how strong this could be his. In fact, they're

:26:06. > :26:08.going faster now than they have the whole race. A STUDIO: And they

:26:08. > :26:13.maintained their advantage on the early part of the final lap,

:26:13. > :26:18.knowing that they would be fighting it out for the medals. Well and

:26:18. > :26:25.truly in the comfort zone. Exactly. They are writing their own race.

:26:25. > :26:29.There is no way they would it cost -- get caught, even if they crashed.

:26:29. > :26:32.It is just a matter of who comes out of it the best when they lock

:26:32. > :26:36.horns on the climb. The other riders will have to chance their

:26:36. > :26:40.arm because they cannot go all the way to the line with Marianne Vos.

:26:40. > :26:48.Out of the five, they know what is going to happen. Marianne Vos is

:26:48. > :26:53.going to go hard. They have to hang on and hope that they can hang on.

:26:53. > :26:57.Getting ready for the left-hander for the final time and the

:26:57. > :27:04.concluding a sent to the crest. Listen to the cacophony of applause.

:27:04. > :27:09.-- a cent. Her team-mate is giving it her all now. In her head, as

:27:09. > :27:13.soon as she gets the bottom, she is going to pull off and her work is

:27:13. > :27:19.done. The American, who is second, she is probably the weakest of the

:27:19. > :27:24.remainder. She is just tired, I was safe. The Italian? She is the

:27:24. > :27:29.biggest threat, the only girl that can stand a chance of going neck-

:27:29. > :27:32.and-neck with Marianne Vos. I think it will be a race between the last

:27:32. > :27:37.three in the grip. We will soon know if that speculation will be

:27:37. > :27:41.confirmed because the climb is getting near. Remember, it is 1.2

:27:41. > :27:45.kilometres of hill to the summit, and then 1.7 kilometres to the

:27:45. > :27:50.finish. This is the left hander that will line them up for the run.

:27:50. > :28:00.And the crowd are loving it. Here we go on the food slopes of the

:28:00. > :28:00.

:28:00. > :28:05.climb. There is an attack on the other side. It is the Australian

:28:05. > :28:12.having a goal. She is not afraid of reputation. Marianne Vos is tucked

:28:12. > :28:18.in behind her wheel. The Italian is trying to go clear with the other

:28:18. > :28:26.two. Rachel Nealon is digging deep. And the other Dutch competitor is

:28:26. > :28:30.detached. V3 are starting to go clear. Exactly as we thought, the

:28:30. > :28:34.Australian... Marianne Vos now launches a winning move there. She

:28:34. > :28:38.has gone to the other side of the road. She wants to ride on the line

:28:38. > :28:43.with her ceremonial victory. And look at this, the rest of the pack

:28:43. > :28:48.are in bets. It is fragmented. They are all actually suffering

:28:48. > :28:52.significant life. The this is incredible. I know how hard this

:28:52. > :28:56.climate is, but just watching Marianne Vos go up there so fast,

:28:56. > :29:01.it is phenomenal. I did not think she would be able to do that. She

:29:01. > :29:06.has done that three times. She did it their lap after which she

:29:06. > :29:09.attacked the break. She has wings on our wheels. The Olympic champion,

:29:10. > :29:13.five times second in the world road championships and one time she has

:29:13. > :29:17.been the gold medal winner. Look at best, for word on the peak of the

:29:17. > :29:23.saddle, crouching down in that low style. Such a prodigious talent.

:29:23. > :29:27.She knows the gold medal is ours. This is it. They have got to the

:29:27. > :29:34.crest. She has just over a kilometre 1/2 to go. And it just

:29:34. > :29:41.gets flat now. A good ride by the Australian, she has surpassed

:29:41. > :29:50.itself. She has ridden with conviction. She has not been afraid.

:29:50. > :29:59.Look at the crowd. A 30 years of age, Rick Sean Dillon, -- Rachel

:29:59. > :30:04.Nelen. Marianne Vos is fired up. This is going to be the greatest

:30:04. > :30:08.kilometre she has ever written. The sweetest kilometre. Still a silky

:30:08. > :30:12.smooth style, Marianne Vos. She is going to win the World title to add

:30:12. > :30:18.to the Olympic title. Only one woman has ever won the World title

:30:18. > :30:22.having won the Olympic title in the same season. And that was back in

:30:22. > :30:30.2008. Look at turnout, the, to sign is just ahead. She knows she has

:30:30. > :30:34.got it. -- there kilometre sign. Holland have dominated this. I did

:30:34. > :30:44.not think it was possible for Marianne Vos to write like this. It

:30:44. > :30:46.

:30:46. > :30:52.punched a hole through the rest. It is just a matter of, well, I will

:30:52. > :30:57.take my time. Vos is going to arrive on the line here to carve

:30:57. > :31:02.her Name into sporting immortality. What a sensational piece of riding.

:31:02. > :31:06.She takes a cursory look back. But nobody has got the power to put

:31:06. > :31:11.under pressure. Tell you what, I would not be surprised to see a

:31:11. > :31:18.little tear down those cheeks. Here is a challenge from the Australian.

:31:18. > :31:24.But she will never reach Vos. 500 metres to go for Vos, and already

:31:24. > :31:28.the uproars is ringing out. They are going ballistic. -- the

:31:28. > :31:33.applause. Everybody is trying to take a picture of Marianne Vos. She

:31:33. > :31:43.is going to be the world champion. They are in perfect formation

:31:43. > :31:48.behind her. Gold, silver, bronze. As she picks up the flag, the

:31:48. > :31:53.national flag is in her hand, and she is celebrating. Here she is,

:31:53. > :31:58.Vos wins her second world road title, and remember, she is also

:31:58. > :32:02.the Olympic champion. She celebrates, and in style! Marianne

:32:02. > :32:08.Vos, the number one rider in the world, has shown us why she has

:32:08. > :32:14.that reputation. Here comes the rider for second, it is a cracking

:32:14. > :32:18.piece of bike riding by the Aussie. Good riding to claim the second

:32:18. > :32:27.place on the podium. The bronze medal, well, that is going to be

:32:27. > :32:33.taken by the Italian. We had to wait a long time for it. But when

:32:33. > :32:43.the action imploded, it was worthwhile. The fourth place when

:32:43. > :32:46.

:32:46. > :32:50.now is Amber Neben. She will be flagged as a national hero.

:32:50. > :32:56.This is one of the things I love about cycling. The fifth place

:32:56. > :33:02.rider will not get a medal but she has done a lot of riding to enable

:33:02. > :33:09.Vos. Quite funny as well that we were predicting a bunch sprint a

:33:09. > :33:14.few hours ago. But they are coming in one by one. They are limping

:33:14. > :33:23.over the line. Marianne Vos, what a phenomenal bike rider. You could

:33:23. > :33:33.wax lyrical forever. It is a joy to watch. They don't come along often.

:33:33. > :33:37.

:33:37. > :33:43.There we are. Let me confirm the The first British rider to finish

:33:43. > :33:47.was Emma Pooley. JILL DOUGLAS: Merrien,

:33:47. > :33:52.congratulations. Nobody could be due today on that course.

:33:52. > :33:56.Well, yeah, nobody is unbeatable. Anything can happen. But I felt

:33:56. > :34:01.really good at the start. I knew the course suited me and that I had

:34:01. > :34:07.a strong team behind me. The Dutch were amazing. Not only the Dutch

:34:07. > :34:15.riders, but also the crowd. They helped us through the race.

:34:15. > :34:19.We were riding for Emma, and when Vos went away, that is when she

:34:19. > :34:26.should have gone. There was an Italian rider who went into her. It

:34:26. > :34:31.was a physical race, in that sense. But, yeah, we did everything we did

:34:31. > :34:35.today as a British team. Vos was the strongest. She has shown it all

:34:35. > :34:39.year. Emma Pooley is coming in now.

:34:39. > :34:47.Disappointment, I know. You just missed the break and you were

:34:47. > :34:52.blocked, anyway. Yeah, yeah. I didn't do a bit -- a

:34:52. > :34:57.good job today. I had good support from the girls and I knew that Vos

:34:57. > :35:02.was going to jump across. I was even write there and I was slightly

:35:02. > :35:07.blocked in. I just did not have the jump to go with her. Once I had

:35:07. > :35:12.missed it, we couldn't chase it back. It was my job to go then and

:35:13. > :35:18.I couldn't. Not just disappointing, I think I was a disappointment.

:35:18. > :35:23.Sorry about that. I let them down. A bit of a shame.

:35:24. > :35:27.You have never let us down in the many times we have seen you. I know,

:35:27. > :35:32.in your mind, now is not the right time to answer, but you are

:35:32. > :35:39.querying what to do next year. At this stage, when EU think you can

:35:39. > :35:43.make the decision? I'm not sure. It depends whether I get the offer

:35:43. > :35:47.from the team or not. Days like today don't fill me with

:35:47. > :35:50.encouragement because I just feel like I have been a bit of a

:35:50. > :35:55.disappointment all year. It is not through lack of trying and it is

:35:55. > :36:00.not through a lack of support. I don't feel like I am where I want

:36:00. > :36:08.to be. I just want to say that I had really good support from the

:36:08. > :36:13.girls today. They did a great job. I had a bit of a crash as well and

:36:13. > :36:16.I hit my back and my head. I did not feel my best. It is part of

:36:16. > :36:20.bike racing. I certainly hope you stay with it

:36:20. > :36:27.because you want to put this on to bed and come back fighting.

:36:27. > :36:31.Yeah, maybe. I never do a good job at the World Championships.

:36:31. > :36:36.The traditional press Commons was enlivened when the BBC's co-

:36:36. > :36:44.commentator decided to tag along. He has been at the forefront of the

:36:45. > :36:50.sport's fight against doping. He came along to hear UCI president

:36:50. > :36:55.defend the governing body. First of all, the UCI has nothing

:36:55. > :36:59.to be apologetic about. The UCI has always been the international

:36:59. > :37:07.federation that does the most in the fight against doping in

:37:07. > :37:13.relation to hiding a sample. The UTA has never hidden a sample,

:37:13. > :37:17.particularly in relation to Lance Armstrong. In relation to rumours

:37:17. > :37:20.that Armstrong had been informed in advance of testing, that is a

:37:20. > :37:24.complete fallacy. The action taken, what is your

:37:24. > :37:27.position on that? I think it is the best thing that

:37:27. > :37:32.has happened to cycling in a long time. It is going to offer us the

:37:32. > :37:35.closure we have been leading. It is going to be traumatic and it is

:37:35. > :37:40.going to be a tough passage, but I think if we want to move forward

:37:40. > :37:47.and continue with all the good stuff we have done, I think we need

:37:47. > :37:51.to have some closure. You asked whether there was any

:37:51. > :37:55.apology. I expect you were looking for some contrition on the part of

:37:55. > :37:59.the UCI. That did not seem to be forthcoming.

:37:59. > :38:07.One of Pat's statement was that he considered that EU see I had

:38:07. > :38:10.nothing to apologise for -- EU see I had nothing to apologise for. I

:38:10. > :38:15.was uncomfortable with that because they had a big part in what

:38:15. > :38:21.happened. Whether they believe it or not, they should accept it. They

:38:21. > :38:25.should be contrite. We all have to be, in our way. The coaches, the

:38:25. > :38:31.sponsors, even the media, and in a small part, the fans. We all have

:38:31. > :38:37.to realise what happened was wrong, and we have two more forward.

:38:37. > :38:41.What is your position on drawing a line under what has gone on?

:38:41. > :38:46.In a perfect world, that would be great. But we don't live in a

:38:46. > :38:52.perfect world. We move forward by punishment, to some degree. In

:38:52. > :38:58.order to acknowledge what happened, I think an amnesty would be close

:38:58. > :39:03.to brushing it under the carpet and saying, look, we did something

:39:03. > :39:07.wrong, let's move on - we need to take it more seriously than that.

:39:07. > :39:11.Are you optimistic about cycling at the moment?

:39:11. > :39:16.I'm a total optimist. I would not be here talking about this now and

:39:16. > :39:21.coming here and wanting to go into the press conference and question

:39:21. > :39:27.him if I did not believe we were making changes. With my team, we

:39:27. > :39:31.were the pioneers, I think. Where we are now, five years later, we

:39:31. > :39:36.have a British team winning the Tour de France. That would not have

:39:36. > :39:40.happened without the optimism that we had five years ago.

:39:40. > :39:43.Thank you, David. Fresh from that Tour de France success and that

:39:44. > :39:48.gold medal in the London Olympics, Bradley Wiggins is here in Limburg

:39:48. > :39:56.as part of a strong British team. People keep saying, I'm surprised

:39:56. > :40:00.to see you here. Normally the Tour de France is at this time a year.

:40:01. > :40:05.We have changed the traditional cycling a bit. It is not always

:40:05. > :40:10.about me. There's always a role to play for somebody else. I'm happy

:40:10. > :40:14.to come here for somebody else. We have got so many cards to play in

:40:14. > :40:18.British cycling now. There's always somebody who has targeted this.

:40:18. > :40:24.That is nice. The sport has changed. But we still

:40:24. > :40:34.have to deal with Lance Armstrong. Still we are talking about a guy

:40:34. > :40:41.who Buck Buck Buck -- a guy who... The consensus is, it was so long

:40:41. > :40:46.ago, why drag it up? For those of us that don't really follow the

:40:46. > :40:50.goings on of that thing, you just hear little things about it. I

:40:51. > :40:58.heard that Pat was suing someone. Digesting, surely there's more

:40:58. > :41:05.important things to be dealing with? -- you just think. This is a

:41:05. > :41:09.bloke who, you can understand why people want to bring him to justice,

:41:09. > :41:15.but I just don't think it tell us what we are doing now.

:41:15. > :41:19.What about this year's race? A different team, Jonathan Tiernan-

:41:19. > :41:27.Locke coming in, a different course. What are your thoughts going into

:41:27. > :41:34.I wrote this course as a junior 15 years ago. -- I road. The weather

:41:34. > :41:40.could play a factor. Jonathan is in a great form at the moment. Yeah,

:41:40. > :41:45.there's always a job to do. We have got nine riders. Dave, Shane and

:41:45. > :41:50.rot will have a plan. We will go out there and try to implement it

:41:50. > :41:55.for Jonathan. It is not going to be as straightforward as last year,

:41:55. > :42:04.but we will have a go. It is a lumpy course. On paper, it

:42:04. > :42:10.suits my strength. It depends how controlled it is. The finish comes

:42:10. > :42:15.1.5 kilometres after the hill. I think it is going to be more open

:42:15. > :42:21.than just for the climbers. How have you enjoyed your year?

:42:21. > :42:29.It has gone really quickly. No, I am satisfied. I'm not satisfied,

:42:29. > :42:36.actually. But I have done the jersey the justice it deserves. I

:42:36. > :42:42.wanted to win, I wanted to be good consistently. It is a jersey that

:42:42. > :42:48.holds so much meaning in cycling. There's not many other sports that

:42:48. > :42:58.represent you are the champion for a Horia. Yes, I wanted to win. --

:42:58. > :43:05.

:43:06. > :43:15.for a whole year. 15 races are won this year. I am on a kind of

:43:16. > :43:18.

:43:18. > :43:23.personal level, and I would like to have done more. It did not happen.

:43:23. > :43:30.But satisfied personally? Maybe not as much as I could be, but it has

:43:30. > :43:33.been a good ear. There have been frustrations. Do

:43:33. > :43:37.you want to make changes to give yourself a better opportunity to

:43:37. > :43:43.win races? I think there will have to be

:43:43. > :43:48.changes to win more races. Across the board, that has been stated.

:43:48. > :43:52.Where are we with that? It is a long haul, so I can't talk

:43:52. > :43:58.about it. What are your thoughts on this

:43:58. > :44:03.course? I think we need to get on to

:44:03. > :44:06.Cavendish and start motivating him. I know he is not thinking about

:44:06. > :44:14.winning on Sunday, but maybe he could be.

:44:14. > :44:20.Does it suit you, this course? Probably if it will -- was around

:44:20. > :44:26.the time of the Tour de France, may be. I feel quite thinly spread at

:44:26. > :44:31.the moment. I don't think I will be in the final few laps, not in

:44:31. > :44:34.contention. Maybe with Stephen Cummings, we might be.

:44:34. > :44:39.The men's road race, you were a member of the team that helped Mark

:44:39. > :44:42.Cavendish win the jersey a year ago. It is different expectations here.

:44:42. > :44:50.But the world's best will start this race. Where is your money

:44:50. > :44:53.going? It is a hard course. It is a course we do at the

:44:53. > :45:00.beginning of the year in April. It is always the same guys at the

:45:00. > :45:04.front. The Italians will always be good because it is the sort of

:45:04. > :45:11.course they love. I would go with the usual suspects.

:45:11. > :45:15.The Spanish two in particular, a real team of superstars. Is that a

:45:15. > :45:19.strength or weakness? Spain is the only team way you can

:45:19. > :45:25.call that a strength. They are so loyal to each other, they will

:45:25. > :45:28.decide a tactic, and they will stick to it. Other teams will be

:45:28. > :45:32.disrupted. You can have faith that the Spanish, they will race

:45:32. > :45:40.amazingly, and with one goal in mind. I think they will be the team

:45:40. > :45:43.Let's look at Great Britain. You're a key member of the team a year ago.

:45:44. > :45:47.Mark Cavendish comes here to defend his title. What will the tactics

:45:47. > :45:51.be? You have to understand that although he is coming here to

:45:51. > :45:55.defend, it is a course that he cannot win on. That may sound

:45:55. > :45:58.pessimistic but it is the truth, it is not designed for him. He is

:45:58. > :46:04.honouring the jersey by coming here. He will be working for his team-

:46:04. > :46:11.mates and the stronger star Chris Froome and Bradley, although he has

:46:11. > :46:14.not been at the front over the last while, he is still the number one

:46:14. > :46:18.rider in the world. We have a strong team but not as strong as

:46:18. > :46:22.last year. I think we will raise more openly and more dynamically.

:46:22. > :46:30.How did you enjoy riding this course? Do you know the Cauberg

:46:30. > :46:34.well? I have never liked it that well. Although it looks easy, it

:46:34. > :46:42.can become very hard. There is a misconception because it is so wide,

:46:42. > :46:48.you cannot see how steep it is. It is a horrible finish. You need to

:46:48. > :46:53.be a sprinter and a strong climber to be there at the finish.

:46:53. > :46:58.Norman, he should relish this? Normally, ice you would say that he

:46:58. > :47:03.has a good chance but because there is the 800 metres, flat from the

:47:03. > :47:07.top, the re- Brokeback -- to regroup could happen and a lot of

:47:07. > :47:12.guys will regroup for the flat sprint. I will not ride him off. I

:47:12. > :47:20.think Belgium will have to be playing Gilbert and Tom, who will

:47:20. > :47:24.be sitting pretty waiting for the French -- Sprint. This is the sort

:47:24. > :47:27.of terrain that has convinced Mark Cavendish she cannot win today. It

:47:27. > :47:33.is more of a Jonathan Tiernan-Locke kind of course but longer than

:47:33. > :47:38.anything he has tackled before. Then it climbs the Cauberg and does

:47:38. > :47:48.10 circuits of the town. Before that familiar Finnish atop the hill.

:47:48. > :47:49.

:47:49. > :47:54.It should suit Phillipe Gilbert of Belgium. As the team defending the

:47:54. > :47:56.rainbow jersey of Mark Cavendish, Great Britain have the honour of

:47:56. > :48:01.Great Britain have the honour of leading the peloton. And there was

:48:01. > :48:08.trammelled in the first hour as one of the pre-race favourites took a

:48:08. > :48:12.seat -- to K4, Spain's Oscar Freire. Great Britain missed the first move,

:48:12. > :48:15.and were left working hard, leading the chase on the front of the

:48:15. > :48:20.Ellerton. Mark Cavendish, shouldering the bulk of the work.

:48:20. > :48:25.The enthusiasm of the local crowd so nearly had catastrophic, --

:48:25. > :48:30.catastrophic consequences as eaglet on a head by a reporter's sign. Six

:48:30. > :48:34.men broke away from the pattern. The lead group grew to almost 30

:48:34. > :48:38.riders. Alberto Contador jumped across, taking with them Jonathan

:48:38. > :48:43.Tiernan-Locke. By that time, nearly 100 kilometres had taken their toll

:48:43. > :48:50.on Mark Cavendish, who retired from the race. A crash split the

:48:50. > :48:56.Ellerton on the Cauberg. -- the peloton. Approaching for the 9th

:48:56. > :49:00.time. The race is finally poised with his group clear. Only a

:49:00. > :49:07.handful of seconds separating them -- separating them from the peloton.

:49:07. > :49:14.This is the leading group and there are some favourites here. Umberto

:49:14. > :49:24.Contador, Jonathan Tiernan-Locke, they have been the strongest so far.

:49:24. > :49:27.Steve Cummings has now been caught. It is a strong lead. You get the

:49:27. > :49:34.feeling that there is going to be a reaction at the head of the peloton.

:49:34. > :49:39.It is still Fletcher at the front. He has been out of the front -- out

:49:39. > :49:45.at the front for a long time and his legs must be soon to be

:49:45. > :49:51.exploding. Germany are in the next, trying to take the chase. They are

:49:51. > :50:01.getting involved. The British team are so prominent. Ben Swift is

:50:01. > :50:03.

:50:03. > :50:10.looking amazingly comfortable. Cabals has been at the front for 10

:50:10. > :50:20.kilometres. That looks like full San going backwards. Here comes the

:50:20. > :50:24.peloton. -- Fulsan. This is a crucial point of this World

:50:24. > :50:28.Championship event. Germany decides to turn the screw. An injection of

:50:28. > :50:34.pace by Germany. This is what needs to happen. By Enterprise Germany

:50:34. > :50:39.are doing it. Contador is now launching. He is coming from behind,

:50:39. > :50:43.laying the groundwork for his riders. Alberto Contador, with his

:50:43. > :50:47.trademark style, going to the front and beginning to raise the tempo.

:50:47. > :50:50.And the crowd are loving it. Jonathan Tiernan-Locke has seen the

:50:50. > :51:00.move and he is on the back here as the front group is fragmented

:51:00. > :51:01.

:51:01. > :51:06.slightly. Tommy Butler on the left, looking to counter-attack. This is

:51:06. > :51:10.a trademark move from them. Contador is not at all scared.

:51:10. > :51:13.Steve Cummings is struggling and it looks like he may get attached.

:51:14. > :51:19.Jonathan Tiernan-Locke looks as though he has read the move. The

:51:19. > :51:23.peloton is beginning to fragment. The strong men are having the right

:51:23. > :51:29.side of the road. We are run for a grand finale. Two more circuits

:51:29. > :51:36.when they get to the line. This is the key move after so long. Why do

:51:36. > :51:40.nothing we expected this. The pace of the race has totally changed.

:51:40. > :51:44.The fact that Steve Cummings is there is impressive. He was

:51:44. > :51:48.involved in the counter-attack that launched 100 kilometres away.

:51:48. > :51:52.Jonathan Tiernan-Locke is riding out of his skin. This is the most

:51:52. > :51:57.impressive company has ever mixed with. The representation of the

:51:57. > :52:00.riders is not frightening him at all. Contador is looking across.

:52:00. > :52:05.Jonathan Tiernan-Locke is still there. We are getting towards the

:52:05. > :52:11.defining moment of this contest. think this is what is going to keep

:52:11. > :52:13.happening. What we expected is that the attacks will go strong at the

:52:14. > :52:19.Cauberg and then when it flattens out, it would get back together

:52:19. > :52:26.again. At the front, there is no harmony. Contador is ready to

:52:26. > :52:31.attack. Jonathan Tiernan-Locke is the front guy. Cool as a cucumber.

:52:31. > :52:35.He looks as though he has been out for a touring holiday. But he has

:52:35. > :52:40.been in the biggest contest of his life. Here is the regrouping at the

:52:40. > :52:43.back. And now we have a sizable group. We're waiting for the

:52:43. > :52:48.counter-attack. Jonathan Tiernan- Locke needs to be vigilant. There

:52:48. > :52:55.is a little splinter group, and if that does, he needs to resist that.

:52:55. > :53:01.Fletcher coming at the top. All the key figures are still there.

:53:01. > :53:11.many times have we written Thomas Bojinov? And he is right there.

:53:11. > :53:17.

:53:17. > :53:21.is playing an intelligent race. This repositioning has given us a

:53:21. > :53:24.group ahead of approximately 30 riders. Jonathan Tiernan-Locke is

:53:24. > :53:31.floating in the wheels and looks as though he has a lot of energy to

:53:31. > :53:36.use. The German, bringing in the chasers. I think the Germans have

:53:36. > :53:42.been forced to make that move, but it may have been a wasted effort.

:53:42. > :53:49.They have lost four riders. It has been ripped to pieces. The Dutch

:53:49. > :53:53.have had the biggest disappointing race after that crash, over half

:53:53. > :53:58.their team are stuck behind the front of the race. The race is in

:53:58. > :54:01.pieces and we expected this but it is a sizable group. Handshakes all

:54:01. > :54:05.round for writers deciding to, today. They have made a big

:54:05. > :54:11.injection into the pattern of the event but now it is game over.

:54:11. > :54:18.Italy and Spain. They have done their job. When it did go, after 40

:54:18. > :54:23.kilometres, the two riders, it was their job and they did that job.

:54:24. > :54:27.They have worked incredibly hard for last two laps to set this up.

:54:27. > :54:30.We expected him to capitulate because he has been in the thick of

:54:30. > :54:36.it. But we still have a lot of racing to come in this concluding

:54:36. > :54:46.32 kilometres. And the contest is far from over. There has been a lot

:54:46. > :54:50.of good riders not out. Peter Sagan, he was isolated. We know that will

:54:50. > :54:55.not be a problem for him. And the Italians are at the front. I think

:54:55. > :55:02.they have realised that they have to commit. Presumably they have

:55:02. > :55:07.Moser in there, and he will be the key man. Of course, he is the

:55:07. > :55:13.cousin of Francesca Moser, we mentioned earlier when we are

:55:13. > :55:18.pursuing the -- previewing the men's race, at he is like a missile.

:55:18. > :55:23.If he attacks the race, he will be another man to look out for. We

:55:23. > :55:28.tried to see whether Peter Sagan is up here. Sammy Sanchez, he is here.

:55:28. > :55:38.Everybody is getting on the attack on the Cauberg. Alun Davies is on

:55:38. > :55:41.

:55:41. > :55:45.his wheel. These are the key number two riders. Sammy Sanchez is having

:55:45. > :55:52.a go, the man that came after the silver medal in Beijing. The front

:55:52. > :55:58.group, actually, at the moment, his 70 strong. It is a massive grip.

:55:58. > :56:07.There were 17 in front and 60 behind. Some guys have dropped.

:56:07. > :56:14.Fletcher, is that Fletcher? No, it is not. That is low growth. -- Luke

:56:15. > :56:19.Rowe. Alun Davies is one of the biggest threats, because he can

:56:19. > :56:25.climb. This is one of the guys that we stop, he can match Peter Sagan

:56:25. > :56:33.to a certain degree. He is having a good ride, as is the big German

:56:33. > :56:43.sprinter. The number one German sprinter is obviously not here, but

:56:43. > :56:44.

:56:44. > :56:47.debt and golf is a man who will need respect. -- Degenkolb. There

:56:47. > :56:57.is a bit of cramp creeping in. is clear in the script that the

:56:57. > :56:58.

:56:58. > :57:03.fastest guys are getting involved. Everyone will agree that none of

:57:03. > :57:07.them want to deal with Degenkolb. He is currently the fastest guy. I

:57:07. > :57:13.have to say, I am pleasantly surprised that he is still there.

:57:13. > :57:21.This has been a war of attrition. The group is so big. There are

:57:21. > :57:27.three areas there. Freire, what a canny race he has been having. Have

:57:27. > :57:35.you spotted Valverde? I have not. There is a group of Spanish riders

:57:35. > :57:40.in front. Their peers. -- there he is. The three of them are talking

:57:40. > :57:43.and they will be discussing how they feel. The Spanish will figure

:57:43. > :57:47.route to will be the number one man and what moves they will make.

:57:47. > :57:50.Contador is still there and you get the feeling he is happy to lay down

:57:50. > :57:55.here at the expense of the rest, to try to deliver the right man to the

:57:55. > :58:00.front. There is no doubt that he is having fun out there. He knows this

:58:00. > :58:08.is the race for him. He will work hard for the team. He's trying to

:58:08. > :58:13.set it up. The good news here, in the closing stages, Great Britain

:58:13. > :58:17.have still got five riders in there. You are looking at two of them but

:58:17. > :58:24.we have Jonathan Tiernan-Locke, Stannard, Luke Rowe and Danns West.

:58:24. > :58:30.It is a fine effort. -- Ben Swift. It is remarkable. It is made up of

:58:30. > :58:35.mostly home-grown talent. And good riders. Swifter, he looked so easy

:58:35. > :58:39.on the Cauberg last time, just sitting in front. And Jonathan

:58:39. > :58:45.Tiernan-Locke is matching Contador battle for pedal. And Luke Rowe has

:58:45. > :58:52.won the first stage of the tour to Britain. -- Tour of Britain. He is

:58:52. > :58:56.a fine professional. I think this is a good test. Some of the young

:58:56. > :59:01.guys, if you can race this length at this stage, they are destined to

:59:01. > :59:05.progress. We have been speculating on the fact that Jonathan Tiernan-

:59:05. > :59:09.Locke is moving into unknown territory after 200 metres. -- 200

:59:09. > :59:12.kilometres. He does not have a wealth of experience of a race as

:59:12. > :59:20.long as this but what we have seen so far, he is a serious contender.

:59:20. > :59:25.He is making it look easy. He races with these guys weekend, week out.

:59:25. > :59:31.It is great to see that he is not fazed by it. That is just a

:59:31. > :59:34.psychological aspect. He seems to be taking it in his stride. He is

:59:34. > :59:39.prepared to lock horns with the best. The reputations of the riders

:59:39. > :59:49.here hold no fear for Jonathan Tiernan-Locke. We have 1.5 laps to

:59:49. > :59:49.

:59:49. > :59:55.go. 25 kilometres before we know who will be the World Champion. We

:59:55. > :00:02.think Kolobnev will be the big Russian favourite. He is a big

:00:02. > :00:07.sprinter. He is twice a world silver medallist. The Cauberg is

:00:07. > :00:13.not far now and I think some teams will launch a major offensive. I

:00:13. > :00:18.think they want to put Contador under stress. They want to coax

:00:18. > :00:22.something out of them so that when they do go, it will be too much.

:00:22. > :00:29.had been going through the list of riders and I do not think that

:00:29. > :00:36.Kolobnev is there. Yes, he is, using the group. The Russians have

:00:36. > :00:40.their ace card in the survivors. And he is a coming rider. -- coming

:00:40. > :00:46.rider. These guys will be the ones who know how to hide, and they are

:00:46. > :00:56.coolers cucumbers and they do not get worked up. Freire is one of

:00:56. > :01:03.

:01:03. > :01:09.the Cauberg. They have got to do it. They have got to break this group.

:01:09. > :01:13.Look at the British team. The way they are racing is fantastic.

:01:13. > :01:23.Copenhagen. Like Copenhagen, yeah. That is our

:01:23. > :01:32.style. It is not to be used always, but it is a good one to imply. --

:01:32. > :01:38.employer. I'm proud to see that. too. Where so patriotic. -- we are

:01:38. > :01:46.so patriotic. Once you have the jersey on, your determination rises.

:01:46. > :01:53.It does. Especially now, it means a lot more to us. A few years ago, we

:01:53. > :01:58.were a hotch potch of 18. Now we are feared.

:01:58. > :02:02.We are the greatest nation in the world when it comes to track racing.

:02:02. > :02:12.We are establishing the same reputation on the road. The yeah,

:02:12. > :02:21.

:02:21. > :02:31.are all in all off. We have not seen a talent like his, well, maybe

:02:31. > :02:33.

:02:33. > :02:37.a couple in my whole career. Should he be the one that wins? He

:02:37. > :02:46.has been stood in front of the Mirror, practising. We shall

:02:46. > :02:56.speculate. No pressure. Look at this, an attack by the American.

:02:56. > :02:57.

:02:57. > :03:03.What an attack. This is literally the move. Everybody was relaxing

:03:03. > :03:11.waiting for the Cauberg. The Cauberg is the focal point of

:03:11. > :03:17.the match now. The Belgian is trying to get on terms. Luke Rowe

:03:17. > :03:27.will not contribute to the pace. Great news by Ian Stannard.

:03:27. > :03:32.

:03:32. > :03:37.That is a great pairing. I reckon it is underlining exactly

:03:37. > :03:43.the reputation of Stannard, and that is from Taylor Phinney, he

:03:43. > :03:47.said he is the strongest man on the planet.

:03:47. > :03:51.If you see somebody coming up to you, you want it to be somebody

:03:51. > :03:54.like Ian Stannard. You know he is going to work hard and you know he

:03:54. > :04:00.is incredibly strong. We have a brace of riders who had

:04:00. > :04:07.the temerity to distance themselves from the existing peloton. We have

:04:07. > :04:15.got about 50 in the shake-up, but these are the two ha -- LA setting

:04:15. > :04:21.the rhythm. No team has actress -- actually

:04:21. > :04:28.taken control. I think what we are going to see now is a lot of people

:04:28. > :04:32.who think, well, let's let these two go. Spain are definitely going

:04:32. > :04:38.to attack. The beauty of that, David, is when

:04:38. > :04:41.they get on the Cauberg, whoever jumps clear, they were profit.

:04:41. > :04:47.This is the best situation. They are not going to have to deal with

:04:47. > :04:51.the fighting position. The guys that are attacking from the peloton

:04:51. > :04:56.at the bottom, by the time they get to those two, they will have slowed

:04:56. > :05:01.down a bit. They gave the tree a shake, and it

:05:01. > :05:11.was not dramatic, but what was dramatic was how far they went

:05:11. > :05:11.

:05:11. > :05:21.clear. The Spanish are looking after their sprinter. Belgium have

:05:21. > :05:23.

:05:23. > :05:28.two ace cards to play, including Gilbert.

:05:28. > :05:34.By this point in the race, you are dreading you don't miss the gel. If

:05:34. > :05:44.you miss it, you are in trouble. The numbers are still being

:05:44. > :05:45.

:05:45. > :05:49.crunched. Tiernan-Locke, surely he is not going to attack here? A

:05:49. > :05:59.night when there has been generated. They will not be involved with the

:05:59. > :06:04.

:06:04. > :06:14.fierce jumping on the her -- foothills of the Cauberg.

:06:14. > :06:14.

:06:14. > :06:22.This is the perfect situation for the British team. So, Luke Rowe

:06:22. > :06:29.just policing the move at the front. There's Contador, just a bit

:06:29. > :06:33.further back. There are some tired-looking guys

:06:33. > :06:42.there. The race face is on now. These

:06:42. > :06:49.warriors have been out there for what, 5.5 hours.

:06:49. > :06:52.This is a perfect attack. The speed he goes by, nobody can react to it.

:06:52. > :07:02.Ian Stannard thought, that is a good move, I think I will go with

:07:02. > :07:06.

:07:06. > :07:12.that. That is what a true racer does.

:07:12. > :07:16.They have gained another second, hard-earned.

:07:16. > :07:23.It is a headwind along here, what is going to make it a lot harder

:07:23. > :07:27.for them. If they can make it through to the Cauberg, Ian

:07:27. > :07:32.Stannard will go like a lunatic into it.

:07:32. > :07:36.Let's hope he stays upright! What a race this has been. It has been

:07:36. > :07:41.astonishing. I know we have said it several times, but we have seen so

:07:41. > :07:46.many developments. We had a major crash at the back of the peloton.

:07:46. > :07:51.It all came back together. Other riders have chance their arm. And

:07:51. > :08:01.we still have not got the group of selection.

:08:01. > :08:02.

:08:02. > :08:11.There are going to be a few decisions made here. Belgian can't

:08:11. > :08:17.afford any more riders to help him out.

:08:17. > :08:24.Five kilometres to go to the finish, which is 2.5 miles. Three miles, I

:08:24. > :08:32.should say. That includes the Cauberg. That is not a victory gap.

:08:32. > :08:36.But is a nice -- it is a nice advantage to have.

:08:36. > :08:46.They will regroup and try to get to the front before the descent into

:08:46. > :08:46.

:08:46. > :08:51.the Cauberg. 20.8 kilometres remaining, then.

:08:51. > :08:57.There were attacks immediately the flag dropped.

:08:57. > :09:01.This is the group behind. One of the defining moments is going to be

:09:01. > :09:06.getting into that corner. It is almost as much of a race getting

:09:06. > :09:08.into that corner as to the finish line.

:09:08. > :09:18.16.1 kilometres remaining when they get to the finish line in this

:09:18. > :09:19.

:09:19. > :09:23.little village. They have seen a lot of action here over the years.

:09:23. > :09:29.To get inside the last two laps of the world champions, that is

:09:29. > :09:35.something that not many people do. -- will championships.

:09:35. > :09:38.That underlines the unbelievable power that Stannard has. He is

:09:38. > :09:45.embracing the action at the front. He is doing it with great

:09:45. > :09:49.conviction. We are so used to seeing Stannard

:09:49. > :09:53.doing dogsbody work. Today he has been given an opportunity to wait

:09:53. > :09:57.to the end of the race and actually be there when it is all going down.

:09:57. > :10:01.You can see now that the urgency is creeping into the front of the

:10:01. > :10:05.peloton. They are getting towards the left hand, and everybody wants

:10:05. > :10:08.to be at the front when they sleep -- sweep around. That is why the

:10:08. > :10:13.British riders were trying to come through.

:10:13. > :10:18.When you go through that corner, it is going to thin it out. They have

:10:18. > :10:23.only got two more times up there. You need to be in the front because

:10:23. > :10:28.what is going to have happen is, the guys are going to open up their

:10:28. > :10:32.wheels on the weaker guys. You can end up chasing down.

:10:32. > :10:37.We have had the appetiser, now we are looking forward to the juicy

:10:37. > :10:43.main course. I have a feeling it is going to start here. These two need

:10:43. > :10:53.to get to the elbow of the bend before the peloton. The strong men

:10:53. > :10:53.

:10:53. > :10:58.will come to the fore. This could be the group of selection. Ian

:10:58. > :11:08.Stannard, this big, strong, powerful rider, who rides for Team

:11:08. > :11:08.

:11:08. > :11:12.Sky. Let's see who turns the screw. This is a scary moment because they

:11:12. > :11:17.know it is coming from behind. Great Britain on the front, well,

:11:17. > :11:24.they will be slowing it down. have just done that!

:11:24. > :11:30.They just touched the brakes and the rest standstill. When they jump,

:11:30. > :11:34.that will reflect. So few teams do that kind of thing.

:11:34. > :11:44.Perhaps they are doing a bit of work for Stannard. Tiernan-Locke is

:11:44. > :11:46.

:11:46. > :11:51.in there again, in the middle. A problem for a rider at the back.

:11:51. > :11:55.Gosh, look at Ian Stannard. He has got so much power.

:11:55. > :12:00.He does the same thing all day. He doesn't seem to get weaker.

:12:00. > :12:05.He is an absolute animal. Look at the power of Stannard. He has blown

:12:05. > :12:10.the American away. Ian Stannard is now leading the world road-race

:12:10. > :12:13.championship to the top of the Cauberg with just under a lap to go.

:12:13. > :12:17.This is phenomenal bike riding. Jonathan Tiernan-Locke was on the

:12:17. > :12:27.front of the peloton just behind. This is brilliant. This is what

:12:27. > :12:31.everybody has been waiting to watch Stannard do. He is so strong.

:12:31. > :12:41.If that is the Russian behind, he is full of riding.

:12:41. > :12:45.

:12:45. > :12:51.He has got over the tough but -- bit. They are all there.

:12:51. > :12:58.A brilliant group of selection. Come on, Ian, get your second wind,

:12:58. > :13:06.mate. This is the defining moment. The

:13:06. > :13:10.big guns are beginning to fire. Ian Stannard grits his teeth. There's

:13:10. > :13:16.still a lot of riders in contention. Everybody is hanging on to the

:13:16. > :13:26.wheel in front for dear life. It is a case of everybody riding

:13:26. > :13:30.

:13:30. > :13:37.defensively. Gilbert 6 second wheel. -- six

:13:37. > :13:47.second will. Tiernan-Locke really is mixing it with the best.

:13:47. > :13:53.

:13:53. > :13:58.Ian Stannard managed to hold his wheel when he went by. This is

:13:58. > :14:05.classic up. -- classic. The Italian is such an exciting bike rider to

:14:05. > :14:15.watch. He is up there, and look out for him on the last time up the

:14:15. > :14:17.

:14:17. > :14:23.Cauberg. We can see little split. The danger

:14:23. > :14:29.is this counter-attacked at the top of the pine.

:14:29. > :14:37.That looks like Philippe deal that having a crack at the front. --

:14:37. > :14:43.Philippe Gilbert. We have got a serious contest on our hands now as

:14:43. > :14:48.they are coming up to the line. 16.1 kilometres to decide where the

:14:48. > :14:58.rainbow jersey is going. First time, then, that Jonathan Tiernan-Locke

:14:58. > :14:59.

:14:59. > :15:09.has reacted. This is where the moves will be dangerous.

:15:09. > :15:32.

:15:32. > :15:42.Dan Martin is racing well. He can still sprint where some of the best

:15:42. > :15:43.

:15:43. > :15:51.sprinters in the world. Is that Thomas though Clarke?

:15:51. > :15:57.Becomes the freight train. -- Here comes the freight train.

:15:58. > :16:06.A little attack on the left. A counter attack as well. This is

:16:06. > :16:10.Nibali at his best. This is his sixth attack. He is the

:16:10. > :16:20.only guy that can do that. This is where the guys need to go as hard

:16:20. > :16:33.

:16:33. > :16:40.down. They had dismissed Degenkolb and they have two options. They can

:16:40. > :16:43.fight all the way through NT shutting things down. The aerial

:16:43. > :16:53.view gives us some other numbers, Australia represented in this group,

:16:53. > :16:55.

:16:55. > :17:02.by Simon Clark. The home nation does not have a sprinter. I would

:17:02. > :17:10.not count on them to get the wind. Their sprinter is usually

:17:10. > :17:14.Degenkolb's leading man. -- lead in man. Unless there is a move on this

:17:14. > :17:20.circuit, this is going to be fairly neutralised. Sammy Sanchez is still

:17:20. > :17:30.in the group, mixing it well. Three from friend -- three from Spain

:17:30. > :17:34.

:17:34. > :17:44.have written miraculously. -- ridden. Freire is the hot favourite.

:17:44. > :17:56.

:17:56. > :18:04.They have four favourites in this group. Actually, six. My goodness

:18:04. > :18:13.me, said Tom Bowman, that hurts but you have not shut me off. He is in

:18:13. > :18:20.the group, Sammy Sanchez, the rich and a shadow. Say again, Peter

:18:20. > :18:23.Sagan, he is there. 22 years of age. -- saying. Saturated with class for

:18:23. > :18:30.at -- saturated with class and power. They must be worried about

:18:30. > :18:34.Peter Sagan. Everyone is worried about Peter Sagan. I think Belgian

:18:34. > :18:44.are committed to keeping it together as much as possible. --

:18:44. > :18:47.

:18:47. > :18:51.Belgium. Gilbert is the 4th man in the line there and Peter Sagan is

:18:51. > :18:58.that right in the way of Phillipe Gilbert. How much will that unearth

:18:58. > :19:01.the Belgian? -- on nerve. Last year, it would have been a question as to

:19:01. > :19:06.whether he would have won but this year, it is more in Peter Sagan's

:19:06. > :19:10.Court. Australia doing the driving now. A little flurry of activity.

:19:10. > :19:14.It has come down a little bit of the race was in a very angry mood.

:19:14. > :19:20.Now it is beginning to settle down as the riders are gathering, ready

:19:20. > :19:27.for the next onslaught. The German, at the top of the screen, he is the

:19:27. > :19:37.fastest. But he has to get to the top. He was in 6 star 7th position

:19:37. > :19:38.

:19:38. > :19:45.at the Cauberg last time. It looks as though the group is forming

:19:45. > :19:55.again for an attack. I think we only have Tiernan-Locke and Ian

:19:55. > :19:55.

:19:55. > :20:00.Stannard there now. They're getting near for the final time. Alun

:20:00. > :20:04.Davies, we have not spoken much about him but he is still present.

:20:04. > :20:08.He is one of the fastest guys. is a very good finisher. I think he

:20:08. > :20:12.got a silver medal in the world championships a few years back.

:20:12. > :20:22.has been up their two or three times. He could be someone to

:20:22. > :20:24.

:20:24. > :20:28.consider. There are a lot of sprinters in there. It is going to

:20:28. > :20:34.be so hard for somebody to go on that climb. They're going to need

:20:34. > :20:37.to go from bad bottom corner, then sprint for as long as you can, but

:20:37. > :20:42.you can't do it halfway up. They need to be going from the bottom.

:20:42. > :20:50.An impressive display of Belgian and Spanish presence at the front.

:20:51. > :20:55.They are not going to allow anyone to go clear. Belgium has five

:20:55. > :21:04.riders left, Spain have sex. They are the strongest teams. Italy have

:21:04. > :21:11.four that I can see just gathering. They are here in numbers. We have

:21:11. > :21:15.Nibali, who was so exciting. And then the best sprinter, Moser.

:21:15. > :21:18.think Italy, in order to stand a chance, they need to be leading

:21:18. > :21:27.into the corner of the Cauberg. Each rider going as hard as they

:21:27. > :21:34.can. Hoping that Nibali or Moser are there when they make that

:21:34. > :21:39.choice. There are so many sprinters year. Somebody has got to chance

:21:39. > :21:45.their arm to go clear and spoil the party for the sprinters. 10

:21:45. > :21:52.kilometres remaining. Six miles of action left from this race. It has

:21:52. > :22:02.been spellbinding throughout. As we have seen the brakes developing.

:22:02. > :22:07.Simon Clark, and doing a great job here. -- doing a great job. Alun

:22:07. > :22:15.Davies is looking pretty easy. They have good cards to play there. Ian

:22:15. > :22:23.Stannard at the back now. By maybe he has given his all. A big German

:22:23. > :22:27.sprinter, number 8 is seven, next to the German champion. -- No.

:22:27. > :22:37.Sammy Sanchez is doing domestic duties which shows you the sort of

:22:37. > :22:39.

:22:39. > :22:43.team they have. It rider of his calibre, to be basically a worker.

:22:43. > :22:53.Sammy Sanchez has just written of the tour of Britain and, as his

:22:53. > :22:57.

:22:57. > :23:01.final warm-up for this. Russia as well, I this looks like Contador or

:23:01. > :23:08.making a little attack. He might try to disrupt the rhythm of the

:23:08. > :23:16.Belgians. I think he has Rodriguez on his wheel. Basically, they will

:23:16. > :23:20.discuss at a money each other. -- discuss it among stage other. When

:23:20. > :23:26.Sammy Sanchez is willing to ride at the front, that shows that they are

:23:26. > :23:33.buying into what they're doing. For Oscar Freire, he has had a good

:23:33. > :23:38.race. Number 13. I think they're going to shove Valverde up that

:23:38. > :23:46.climber. I think they're going to try to close gaps. They need to get

:23:46. > :23:56.back into the group with 500 metres to go. Freire looking for his 4th

:23:56. > :24:00.

:24:00. > :24:10.title, if he did, it would be his 4th world record. Kolobnev looking

:24:10. > :24:15.

:24:15. > :24:19.strong on the last visit to the Cauberg. As a round the bend for

:24:19. > :24:26.the last time... Jonathan Tiernan- Locke has proven that he can raise

:24:26. > :24:31.these longer distances. And with the best. I wonder if he still has

:24:31. > :24:35.an ace up his sleeve. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that it is not going

:24:36. > :24:39.to be a sprint. The pellets and is still chasing. It is starting to be

:24:39. > :24:44.difficult for these two riders. front group are distancing

:24:44. > :24:51.themselves. It is crumbling at the back. As expected, the strong men

:24:51. > :24:56.are coming through. Kolobnev of Russia, the dark horse, one of the

:24:56. > :25:03.men in the front group to look out for. Peter Sagan is there,

:25:03. > :25:10.representing Slovakia. Freire -- Moser of Italy. Sammy Sanchez and

:25:10. > :25:19.Gilbert. They are all in the next. We have not seen much of Gerrans. A

:25:19. > :25:23.brittle Contador coming to the front. -- Alberto Contador. I think

:25:23. > :25:27.they have used up Sammy Sanchez so now it is Alberto's time for the

:25:27. > :25:33.duties. I am not sure how they're going to ride the Cauberg, whether

:25:33. > :25:43.he is going to ride offensive like. Spain are committed late --

:25:43. > :25:45.

:25:45. > :25:52.committed now. -- Write offence of teams have missed the move, it has

:25:52. > :25:56.come right exactly how the big teams wanted. Some of those big

:25:56. > :26:02.teams, each one of them could be leaders in another team. It is a

:26:02. > :26:08.hugely strong selection. They have displayed to and what they are.

:26:08. > :26:13.Some riders in imperious form in this front group. We will see that

:26:13. > :26:17.reflected in the final ascent. The notorious Cauberg, the scene of

:26:17. > :26:27.many grade lavatorial struggles. And there will be none better than

:26:27. > :26:31.this one. -- great gladiatorial struggles. There is no rain here,

:26:32. > :26:39.I'm police say, and equality select group approaching the climb for the

:26:39. > :26:47.final time. They have the big dissent and Contador is happy to

:26:47. > :26:52.play the role of the domestic. seems that Spain are trying to

:26:52. > :26:59.control the race. Germany, surprisingly, have been effective.

:26:59. > :27:08.But they need to get right -- get Degenkolb right to the front.

:27:08. > :27:18.EU do not think he is in the right position? No. -- you do not think.

:27:18. > :27:23.

:27:23. > :27:28.Quite happy to keep out -- keep tapping out the riven. Contador,

:27:28. > :27:33.still second in front of the Belgian representation. Davies from

:27:34. > :27:42.Australia, and Gerrans is also in this group. And of course Dan

:27:42. > :27:46.Martin from Ireland, reflecting his strength. All the be Ryder's have

:27:46. > :27:56.bodyguards on their left. Kolobnev is being protected, Valverde is

:27:56. > :27:58.

:27:58. > :28:03.being protected. The riders from Colombia are there. This is the

:28:03. > :28:13.time to amplify your intentions and strengths. So much speculation and

:28:13. > :28:18.

:28:18. > :28:22.I feel that it is now going to be embroiled with activity. It is

:28:22. > :28:32.botching up now, not necessarily because it is slowing down but

:28:32. > :28:38.

:28:38. > :28:46.because of the head wind. Germany are finally moving up. Degenkolb is

:28:46. > :28:51.shouting to his team-mate. He is definitely in control. He is in the

:28:51. > :28:54.form of his life with those five stage victories. In Stannard is

:28:54. > :28:58.coming once again with Jonathan Tiernan-Locke on his wheels. It is

:28:58. > :29:07.looking like he is going to try to place Jonathan Tiernan-Locke near

:29:07. > :29:17.the head of the peloton. I'm sure he can do it. Basically, they are

:29:17. > :29:25.

:29:25. > :29:32.dried racing each other. -- drag contest. We are at the business end

:29:32. > :29:36.of the contest and they are in an angry mood. Five kilometres to go,

:29:36. > :29:46.only 2.5 until the bottom of the climb. Standby for the cavalry

:29:46. > :29:50.

:29:51. > :29:57.charge. Also high in his prepared. I have not seen any French riders

:29:57. > :30:04.for a while. They have missed out after their earlier posturing. That

:30:04. > :30:12.will be a big loss. That whole group is bunched together. It is

:30:12. > :30:20.crunch time. It depends on how many riders they have left. Peter Sagan

:30:20. > :30:30.has none. He does not need any. Martin is sticking together with

:30:30. > :30:44.

:30:44. > :30:51.his team. The cousins are looking want this turn first. Look at

:30:51. > :30:56.Jonathan Tiernan-Locke. Cool as a cucumber. Italy coming through. Ian

:30:56. > :31:05.Stannard is beginning to stoke it up. A reaction from Italy. They

:31:05. > :31:11.come to the front. Actually, they dilutes the effort of Ian Stannard.

:31:11. > :31:14.That is perfect for Ian. He is getting a little rest.

:31:14. > :31:19.He has been squeezed back a bit, though.

:31:20. > :31:26.As long as he has room to come back, he is fine. OK. Total commitment

:31:26. > :31:36.from Italy. They are getting closer to the left-hander. There will be a

:31:36. > :31:46.

:31:46. > :31:50.squealing off breaks as they come screw.

:31:50. > :31:54.Three kilometres to go. It is on a knife-edge, absolutely

:31:55. > :32:00.on a knife edge. It will be interesting to see what

:32:00. > :32:09.the teams do now, coming around the corner. He is going to sprint, I

:32:09. > :32:12.think. Ahead of them, the gold medal, to

:32:12. > :32:19.become the world champion. OK, let's see if your prediction is

:32:19. > :32:29.right, David. Nibali is in second place. The Belgians are all over

:32:29. > :32:29.

:32:29. > :32:34.him. Also go looking good is Oscar. Jonathan Tiernan-Locke is on the

:32:34. > :32:42.left of the screen. Belgium have got four riders still

:32:42. > :32:47.there. Nibali is at the front. Here goes

:32:47. > :32:55.Gilbert. They are making a big move for Belgium. This is his trademark

:32:55. > :32:59.move. He did this in Australia. As they turn right into the finishing

:32:59. > :33:06.line, a deal that has gone for it. Twice the winner of the am still

:33:06. > :33:13.gulled. -- Gilbert has gone for it. He is committed. But he had not

:33:13. > :33:16.shut them off. There's a reaction from Russia behind.

:33:16. > :33:26.This is the Gilbert of last year. We have been waiting all year for

:33:26. > :33:33.this. I don't think they have got the

:33:33. > :33:40.strength. Gilbert is still going. 1.7 kilometres to go. The gold

:33:40. > :33:48.medal and rainbow jersey is waiting. This is perfect. He doesn't want to

:33:48. > :33:54.drag the Russian. This is perfect. It is better than having one rider

:33:54. > :33:59.behind. So, the chasers are fragmenting.

:33:59. > :34:09.This is similar to the women's race. But it is Gilbert showing the

:34:09. > :34:16.awesome power he has got. He is waving his said that head, as if to

:34:16. > :34:24.say, I'm in the zone now. -- he is waving his head. He has got theirs.

:34:24. > :34:32.They are looking behind. It is not going to happen. If one

:34:32. > :34:36.of them tries, the rest are going to get beaten.

:34:36. > :34:41.The Norwegian was the world champion a couple of years ago it.

:34:41. > :34:48.Here comes Gilbert. One of the greatest single day riders of all

:34:48. > :34:52.time. Isla St has the rainbow jersey in his sights. -- at last he

:34:52. > :35:01.has the rainbow jersey. He is finding extra strength. He is

:35:01. > :35:06.turning the key around. He is in imperious form. 500 metres to go.

:35:06. > :35:10.There's going to be quite a cavalry charge for the second place. Look

:35:10. > :35:20.at this. The crowd are really supporting him. Philippe killed

:35:20. > :35:24.

:35:24. > :35:34.that is going to be the world Here he comes, his signature

:35:34. > :35:52.

:35:52. > :36:00.What a race that was. And so happy for him. He is a good

:36:00. > :36:04.friend. Everybody was questioning what sort of rider he was. He has

:36:04. > :36:07.just proven that he is a worthy world champion.

:36:07. > :36:17.Jonathan Tiernan-Locke came in 19th at the end. But he did stay in the

:36:17. > :36:17.

:36:18. > :36:27.group. Les be run in a few more places. -- let me run in the point

:36:28. > :36:33.

:36:33. > :36:36.concluding stages just reflected everything. He conquered the rest.

:36:36. > :36:43.He tamed the opposition. Talk us through this.

:36:43. > :36:50.You can see that Nibali goes. It is an amazing attack. He is so in

:36:50. > :36:58.control. He is waiting for the inevitable weakening of Nibali.

:36:58. > :37:05.Deal about, how many times has he done that? -- Gilbert. At the top

:37:05. > :37:14.of the climb, he will know that is a long way to the finish.

:37:14. > :37:24.This is just crazy. A great reaction from the others.

:37:24. > :37:25.

:37:25. > :37:32.It was good that Gilbert distance himself.

:37:32. > :37:42.He has beaten Tom Boonen. To be able to do that on the Cauberg,

:37:42. > :37:51.

:37:51. > :37:54.nobody else was going to beat him. JILL DOUGLAS: Many congratulations.

:37:54. > :38:00.Everybody was predicting that you would win today. But you had to

:38:00. > :38:06.deliver. We did a very good race in Belgium.

:38:06. > :38:11.We had a mistake in this group. We had nobody in the first 11 guys.

:38:11. > :38:20.But after, we just kept control in the race. I think we also talk a

:38:20. > :38:28.lot together. This made the difference, I think. We always were

:38:28. > :38:31.on the right tactic. At the end, when you can finish like this, it

:38:31. > :38:35.is amazing. You have won some big races, but

:38:35. > :38:42.how does it feel to get the rainbow jersey?

:38:42. > :38:47.It is so much special. I have won the classics, but it is a one-day

:38:47. > :38:52.race and nobody remembers. If you did not see this race, you would

:38:52. > :38:59.not know that I was 20. Now I will wear this jersey for the next 12

:38:59. > :39:04.months. It is crazy. Congratulations on your silver

:39:04. > :39:07.medal. Philippe was always favoured, but you must be pleased to take the

:39:07. > :39:17.silver. Of course, I am really happy. I

:39:17. > :39:19.

:39:19. > :39:26.would like to have the gold. But today I am happy with silver. At

:39:26. > :39:32.the end I thought it was a bigger group in the sprint. I was waiting.

:39:32. > :39:36.But I'm happy to get silver. You did a lot of hard work on the

:39:36. > :39:41.front there today. How would the last stages?

:39:41. > :39:48.The final climb was hard. I knew I had to be in front to help children

:39:48. > :39:53.at the end. When the American kid went, I went as well. -- to help

:39:53. > :39:59.Jonathan. Tiernan-Locke Yourston self- into

:39:59. > :40:04.this race. -- Tiernan-Locke launched himself

:40:04. > :40:09.into this race. It was a brilliant performance by

:40:09. > :40:15.the team in its entirety. The older generation decided to take the work

:40:16. > :40:20.on early doors. The younger guys took it on. I thought Luke Rowe and

:40:20. > :40:25.Ian Stannard in particular, Stephen Cummings, they all did a great job.

:40:25. > :40:32.But hats off to Tiernan-Locke. It is the longest race he has ever

:40:32. > :40:37.written. It is not in his usual company. He showed great majority.

:40:37. > :40:42.His positioning was good. I thought it was a fantastic performance and

:40:42. > :40:52.it bodes well for the future. What will you plan before M?

:40:52. > :40:52.

:40:52. > :40:58.To get him to big races. Well, David, Philip Gilbert was the

:40:58. > :41:02.favourite. But he still had to deliver. How impressed were you?

:41:02. > :41:08.Incredibly impressed. He was a favourite. The majority of people

:41:08. > :41:12.you ask, they would say his name. In spite of the year he has had, he

:41:12. > :41:17.has had a terrible year, but he decided to hit form in the Tour of

:41:17. > :41:21.Spain. I thought he really wanted to win this. He did it in the

:41:21. > :41:31.manner that is renowned for his races. He won on his own.

:41:31. > :41:32.

:41:32. > :41:37.It had a bit of everything, that race. Thrills, spills, crisis.

:41:37. > :41:42.It was brilliant. Everyone knows I love Cavendish, but it was typical

:41:42. > :41:49.of him to turn up, make the team right, essentially, and make the

:41:49. > :41:57.presence known. We did not have a plan like last year. We rode

:41:57. > :42:02.remarkably well. Ian Stannard was off the front and still Luke Rowe

:42:02. > :42:08.was there. It gave us confidence in ourselves.

:42:08. > :42:10.We are going to hear a lot more of Tiernan-Locke aren't we?

:42:10. > :42:19.Everyone was questioning how he would go off the 200 kilometre mark,

:42:19. > :42:23.and he was following Contador. That is all right! A big future. What do

:42:24. > :42:29.you expect to see from him? I think it is going to be a bit of

:42:29. > :42:33.an apprenticeship year. He will be at the front and dominating. It is

:42:33. > :42:38.a different kind of tactics. There are new competitors. Next year is

:42:38. > :42:40.going to be a big year for him. going to be a big year for him.

:42:41. > :42:46.The next cycling you can see on the BBC is the truck World Cup from the